A bespectacled computer-engineering major, Scout had shown up at Monden’s door earlier that night, a green and white shoebox in hand. Was there really an armed man? If so, did he intend to harm himself or someone else? In the era of school shootings, tragedy that feels at once familiar and devastating is always just a trigger pull away.Īt that moment, Cat Monden was dashing around West Village, searching for her best friend, Scout. Campus police were dispatched to West Village, located less than a third of a mile from their headquarters, to assess the situation. A report of a potential gunman on Georgia Tech’s campus, situated in the heart of Atlanta, triggered emergency texts and tweets urging students to find shelter. The university had resumed classes for the fall semester less than a month prior. on September 16, 2017, a humid Saturday night. It looks like he’s got-he’s got a knife in his hand.

“It looks like there’s somebody, like, skulking around outside. “Hey, I’m up at West Village,” the person said, referring to a cluster of buildings at the Georgia Institute of Technology, better known as Georgia Tech.

The 911 caller’s voice was calm, almost cheerful.